Mid-Michigan | DeereMan97 - 6/2/2026 07:52
No problem if that’s what’s required to get to moisture. If there’s decent moisture at a shallower level then I’d plant there.
I prefer 1.5”-1.75” personally, but it’s moisture dependent.
I will make the argument that row spacing/population make a difference also. I’m not a big fan of deep soy planting on 15” spacing. If a crust forms, those beans have expended a lot of energy to get to the surface, only to be hindered by the crust. In a 30” row, the beans are closer together allowing them to help each other more in the push. In 15” beans, 140k pop = 1 soy every 3” of row length. In 30” rows, it’s 1 soy every 1.5”. Therefore, I’m not to upset at 30” being deeper, but I start to dislike it more as the row spacing decreases down to 15” or 7.5”/10” drill situations.
Your argument is logical and valid. I plant in 7.5's. Without question my beans have a harder time coming up if there is a crust/pounding rain over 30" rows. However, they wont come up at all if I plant them in dry dirt. Always a crap shoot. |
Soybean planting depth
